Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s call for peace talks and demilitarisation of the icy climes of the world’s highest battleground, Siachen, was welcomed by India on Thursday.

Though the reaction did not come from the highest offices in Delhi, it did come from a relevant office – that of Indian Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju.

Raju welcomed Pakistan’s ‘realisation’ of how difficult it was to maintain troops at Siachen.

“I am glad that our neighbouring country Pakistan is also realising the challenges and the economic problems of maintaining troops on the Siachen Glacier,” Raju told the Indian media.

The minister of state also noted the economic toll inflicted by the deployment of troops in glacial heights. “They have their concerns and we have our concerns but it does take an economic toll. This money can be better spent on development of both countries,” the minister said.

There have been several rounds of talks since the conflict began in 1984. The two sides had almost reached an agreement in 1989, but the Indian government is said to have backtracked after strong opposition by its military establishment.

During the last round of talks held in New Delhi last year, Islamabad handed over a “non-paper” envisaging a roadmap for resolution of the problem. Pakistan had proposed immediate disengagement as a way forward for resolving the dispute.

The Siachen conflict began in 1984 when Indian forces launched a successful operation to force Pakistani troops to retreat west of Saltoro ridge. Since then, the two countries have fought intermittently in the region until they agreed on a ceasefire in 2003.

India wants Pakistan to authenticate the 110-kilometre actual ground position line (AGPL) along the Siachen Glacier-Saltoro ridge in Jammu and Kashmir while Islamabad insists on reverting back to pre-1984 positions.

About 3,000 Pakistani soldiers have died at Siachen since 1984, about 90 percent of whom perished from weather-related causes, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas.